From Polio to the Plague, 5 Historical Scourges That Still Exist

Climate change, declines in vaccinations and other factors continue to make people sick worldwide

Why deadly disease still haunt us

Throughout
the world, once-devastating diseases have made a troubling comeback. Some, such
as mumps and
measles, have emerged in kids who
haven’t been
vaccinated. Polio continues to plague poor
countries where vaccines are hard to obtain. And some tropical diseases, such
as
Chikungunya, Chagas disease and dengue fever, have made inroads into this country
due to climate change and global travel.

“New risks
are cropping up that we didn’t anticipate,” says Mike Eichberg, executive
director of the Henry Wheeler Center for Emerging and Neglected Diseases.

What’s more,
the children of this generation “have not seen these diseases. They never grew
up with them,” says Paul Offit, MD, a professor
of pediatrics in the division of infectious disease at Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia. As a result, they’re no longer feared — but they should be.

Here are
some scourges that are still with us, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC).

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Why deadly disease still haunt us

Throughout
the world, once-devastating diseases have made a troubling comeback. Some, such
as mumps and
measles, have emerged in kids who
haven’t been
vaccinated. Polio continues to plague poor
countries where vaccines are hard to obtain. And some tropical diseases, such
as
Chikungunya, Chagas disease and dengue fever, have made inroads into this country
due to climate change and global travel.

“New risks
are cropping up that we didn’t anticipate,” says Mike Eichberg, executive
director of the Henry Wheeler Center for Emerging and Neglected Diseases.

What’s more,
the children of this generation “have not seen these diseases. They never grew
up with them,” says Paul Offit, MD, a professor
of pediatrics in the division of infectious disease at Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia. As a result, they’re no longer feared — but they should be.

Here are
some scourges that are still with us, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC).